Starwood Preferred Guest Wins Hotel Program of the Year

29 April 2002

NEW YORK, Apr 29, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE)—For the third year in a row, frequent travelers have named Starwood Preferred Guest(R) the number one hotel loyalty program in the world.
Starwood Preferred Guest was voted Program of the Year in both America and Internationally during the 14th Annual Freddie Awards, one of the most prestigious honors in the travel industry. Launched just three years ago, Starwood Preferred Guest also took top honors for Best Customer Service in America and Internationally, Best Award Redemption in America and Internationally, and Best Elite Level Program in America and Internationally, Best Website and Best Newsletter.

Every year the Freddie Awards recognize the best loyalty programs in the world. The awards are voted on by frequent travelers via Insideflyer magazine and an Internet survey, giving those who travel most the opportunity to voice their opinions on favorite airlines, hotels and credit card loyalty programs.

Travelers have once again lauded Starwood Preferred Guest for the program`s continued efforts to aggressively reward and recognize its members. The program made headlines when it launched in 1999 with a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates and no capacity controls, meaning members can redeem free nights anytime, anywhere. Starwood Preferred Guest members have also cited the program`s hassle-free award redemption, outstanding customer service, and innovative promotions and benefits for elite members. The program boasts an unrivaled portfolio of hotels and resorts which includes some of the world`s most celebrated hotel brands: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels and Four Points by Sheraton. Starwood Preferred Guest also offers members the ability to redeem awards at more resorts, more luxury properties, more European hotels and more golf properties than any other hotel program, which has proven to be a big draw for the world`s most frequent travelers, and a significant competitive advantage. Some of the renowned hotels and resorts in Starwood Preferred Guest`s portfolio include the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point, California, The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, The Westin La Cantera in San Antonio, Texas and Hotel Danieli in Venice, Italy.

“Starwood Preferred Guest is honored to receive this award on the heels of its third birthday,” said Jim Berra, vice president, loyalty marketing for Starwood. “When we launched the program, we took the industry by surprise with our generous awards, rich promotions and hassle-free redemption. During the last year, we focused on increasing the flexibility and generosity of our awards while also introducing a new website, improving our customer service, and enhancing the recognition we provide to our elite members. We believe these benefits combined with the exclusive, popular offers we make available to our members like “1K Per Day,” “Cash & Points Awards,” “Private Sales” and “Free Weekends Worldwide” helped make us the number one hotel loyalty program in the industry.”

Recognized with the Freddie Awards` “Program of the Year” three years running, Starwood Preferred Guest opens the door to some of the world`s best hotels. Key business destinations around the globe are covered, and leisure opportunities are endless with more than 125 world-class resorts and over 2,700 holes of golf worldwide. In addition, Starwood has the most hotels of any company recognized on the recently announced Conde Nast Traveler Gold List.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 740 properties in more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com

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